Male and Macca's thriller at the Villa

'The Black Country Bodysnatcher' will be among the interested spectators at the Aston Villa Events Centre, for the ITV4-televised 'Battle of Brum' main event between British middleweight champion Wayne Elcock and Matthew Macklin.

Elcock controversially stopped Macca in two rounds in his shot at the title at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall last June, with the Dudley challenger swearing revenge ever since.

He got 10-rounds under his belt in his return to the ring last month, beating Steve Bendall for the English crown in the process at the Birmingham NIA.

That was step number one of three - a commonwealth title shot appears to be next - to become the No 1 contender.

Shaun Cooper was brought in to train Macca for his last fight and he is convinced his man has what it takes to go all the way.

He said: "Darren is back to his best and fitter than he has ever been after his last fight. He has what it takes to beat either of them, he has my backing that he will go all the way and win the British title.

"Watching him and helping him train, I am really pleased to be a part of it."

Meanwhile, Male fights back-to-back away from the Black Country for the first time - in only fight number four of his professional career.

The highly-rated super featherweight also faces foreign opposition for the first time in Latvia's Pavils Senkovs.

'The Male Man' - a postman by day - kicked off his 2009 at the Tower Ballrooms in Birmingham last month, outpointing Delroy Spencer.

Male is another fighter from the Cooper camp and, having already added British Masters champion Tony Hanna as a scalp, his trainer believes his charge is destined for glory.

He said: "Chris does everything the right way - he works hard, trains hard and lives the right way. I believe that he has the potential to be really big in his division, he has the tools to do it.

"This is another step in the right direction for him."

Tickets are still available for the big show, by calling 07780 505 743.